"Shawn? What are you doing?" Sylvia asked, standing in the kitchen, watching him with wide eyes. She'd followed her son from the room. Shawn didn't answer, for dialing the phone again. Waiting, it rang, but no one answered. He hung it up, moving with urgency, he rushed past Sylvia and Mundo, back into their room, laying the gun on the bed, he slammed his feet into his trainers. Pulling the strings to and tying them fast. He grabbed a t-shirt and snatched it over his head.
"Shawn! What's going on?" Sylvia cried out in a panic.
He picked the gun back up, pulled her by the arm into their room and ordered briskly, "Stay in this house, do not—come—out! Lock the door behind me!"
"Wait, Shawn! What's happening?" She started wringing her hands anxiously. Mundo was following him. "Stay here with your mother!" He ordered him.
"Naw, man! Don't go by yourself! I seen'im. Mama, lock the door! Don't open it!" Mundo ordered, rushing out behind Shawn, who was sprinting down the road toward Shanna's. The gun by his side, the safety off, Mundo right behind him.
"Oh, my God—oh my God! What is going on?!" Sylvia started whimpering, afraid. Her stomach was tied up in knots. Not sure of what to do, she backed in and closed the door locking it. She stood by it, wondering if she should call the police. "But, for what? I don't even know what's going on!" She cried out. She rushed down the hall and checked on Angela and Crystal, they were both sound asleep. She then went into the other room to check on the boys. They were also fast asleep.
Shaking and scared, she didn't know what was happening. She rushed to her large picture window, leaning over the sofa back, head against the glass trying to see, but could not see Shanna's house from it. She didn't wanna stay inside. She wanted to know what was going on.
"Hey! No! Get your ass up here with me!" Shawn barked at Mundo, who was about to look towards the back of the house. "Right here by me, stay by my side, right here!" He ordered, and grabbed Mundo as soon as he trotted up the steps, putting him on the inside and started banging on Shanna's door. "JAKE—JA-A-AKE—JA-A-AKE!!" He banged on it so hard, the sound in and of itself, was like a booming of someone knocking the house down.
That woke them up.
"What in the hell!" Jake leaped from the bed, kicking the sheets off of him. He snatched his door open as Shanna came to hers, looking out at him, scared to death; she cried out his name. "JAKE!"
"Get back in that room!" By the time he barked that, Vivian was coming out of the back room, stopping at Shanna's door as he ran to the front door, recognizing his brother's urgent voice thundering and calling his name in the night.
"WAIT—I'M COMING!" He shouted, flicking on lights, his heart slamming in his chest. When he got to it and looked out, Mundo was standing between Shawn and the door. He opened it. Shawn pushed Mundo inside, his gun out and his eyes scanning the yard and road.
"What the hell is going on?" Jake asked, out of breath.
Shawn slammed the door shut, "SHANNA! GET OUT HERE! BRING A PICTURE OF THAT FUCKIN' HUSBAND OF YOURS!" Shawn boomed. He was red all over, looking every bit a charging red bull, ready to slam into someone.
Shanna came out, scared to death. "What's going on, Shawn?" She whimpered.
"Get—a picture—of that—John Sykes—and bring it to me—NO-O-OW!"
"Why-y-y-y? What's going on, Shawn?" She started crying right away, a shiver went up her spine as she did what she was told. When Shawn was like this, it shook her up. She went to get a photo album from her bedroom and brought it out to the table, opening it. "That's him, why?" She asked in a tiny, frightened voice.
Shawn pointed to it, looking at Mundo. "Go look, tell me, was that him who you saw tonight?"
Hearing those words set up a shaking in Shanna. She bent over, holding her stomach and sat in the chair, watching Mundo's eyes; watching his face closely as he came to the table and looked into the book at the pictures laying open. "You saw him tonight, Mundo? You saw him, where did you see him…Ooohhh, my God…please tell me you didn't see him?" She whimpered, so frightened, the sight of her tore up both brothers standing there. Vivian covered her mouth, so stunned by the change in her. This was a totally different Shanna from the one she'd gotten to know. This one was shaking, trembling so bad, she looked as if she were out in the cold. Mundo looked from Shanna, to Shawn, the sight of her was upsetting him, he didn't know what to do. "Look!" Shawn ordered.
Mundo turned back, gazing at Shanna and then looked down into the photo album, there were quite a few pictures of him. He didn't need all of the pictures, one did the job just fine. It was him.
"Um, so—like, what's going on? That's him, that's who I saw." He confirmed it.
Shanna leaped to her feet, a deep and horrible wailing surged from her mouth, quaking and scared to death, looking from Shawn to Jake. "Please, please, please—he's gonna kill me—he's come to kill me!" Sobs erupted, wrenching her from within, "Where…where'd you see him, Mundo!? Where'd you see him?!" She pleaded, so near to hysterics, she felt faint. Paralyzed by the horror of him finding her, she collapsed to the floor, on her knees, and as if equipped with a projectile, she vomited. "Oh, my god! Shanna!" Vivian rushed to her, grabbing hold of her, as she heaved, her body immediately in a sheen of perspiration.
"Do we call the police?!" The question exploded from Mundo.
Shawn saw nothing but red, he turned to rush out the door, snatching it open—to his horror, he saw his wife standing there about to knock, and exploded.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HE-E-ERE!!! GET IN HERE!!!" He grabbed her by the arm and snatched her into Shanna's and slammed the door. His heart in his throat, his body on fire. Sylvia screamed, it had been a while since seeing her husband this way, not since the night of their reception, and compared to that, he was worse now. "SHAWN! I WAS SCARED!" She cried out. He had his hand clamped around her upper arm so tight, he cut off her blood flow. His face was red and strained, the veins standing out, full and thick with the force of his blood pressure. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU? I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THIS!!!" He barked at her, and then through clenched teeth, "I told you, stay in the house—lock the door—didn't I?!" He bit out, furious.
Sylvia immediately burst into tears, frightened of him, frightened of what was happening.
"Shawn! LET HER GO! IT'S DONE—SHE'S HERE!" Jake shouted, coming towards him. Shawn ignored his brother and rushed across the room past him, dragging Sylvia along. He pulled out a chair, and sat her in it, leaning in close to her face, he ordered rigidly. "Don't—move!" The order had been growled so menacingly, she didn't know him. "You understand me? Don't ever - cross me again!" He stared at her, straight into her eyes, his own wet with fury. "You hear me?" He forced out. Looking at him that close, the way he was right then, scared Sylvia, her eyes widened even more, she nodded. He turned her loose and rushed out of the house, leaving Shanna and Sylvia both crying. She looked up at Jake and Mundo, sobbing, "I just wanted—to know—what—what was going on? What was happening?"
"Somebody needs to call the police! If he's this bad, the way she is? Call the police!!!" Vivian emphasized with the raising of her voice, upset as well, holding Shanna and looked at Sylvia, feeling sorry for her. She had no idea that Shawn could be like that; his manner had her scared to cross him—and he wasn't even her man.
"And say what, Vivian? The man hasn't done anything yet! Remember, the police only come after a crime! They don't prevent one!"
"Jake! Please…go out there with my husband, he's out there alone!" Sylvia whimpered, shaken as well - his earlier brisk manner with her forgotten in her concern for him.
"Hell with that! He's not alone—he's got a gun!" Jake announced. "I don't! I'm not about to get shot out there by him. He'll be okay." On the tail of that, Shawn shouted in the window from the deck, "JAKE! Get me a flashlight out here!"
Jake rushed to Shanna's hall linen closet and grabbed the big Black and Decker flashlight, with it's large square lamp. He rushed to the window, pushed the tabs to the screen to open it and gave it to Shawn. Better equipped
to see, he disappeared again. Mundo was cleaning up after Shanna. Vivian was still holding her, they'd moved to the sofa, where she held her tight, rubbing her back and arm, rocking her. "Jake, call the police, anyway." Vivian asked again.
"Call Royce." Shanna squeaked out.
Jake turned to her, "What's his number?"
She sniffed, wiped her eyes, and looked towards her kitchen counter, pointing, "His number is there, under the sugar pot." Jake went to the counter, lifting the filled ceramic jar, grabbing the card that was laying there with Royce's name on it. Phone in hand, he dialed his number. Royce answered on the third ring, voice groggy from sleep. "Officer Royce Collier."
"Hey, it's Jake. Shanna wanted me to call you. Her ex has been spotted near here."
"What? Umm, okay—I'm on my way." He hung up.
Jake turned to Mundo, "Where—exactly did you see him, Mundo?"
Mundo's eyes went to Shanna, she was starting to calm down, he didn't want to upset her anymore, but he had no choice, he had to tell them. Glancing at his mother, she was upset, rubbing her arm where Shawn had grabbed her and held her tightly. She was looking at him, waiting for him to answer as well.
"I was on my way home, I picked him up in my lights. Saw'im out the corner of my eye."
"Where?" Jake asked.
Mundo gulped, hesitated and then answered, "He was…was running from behind Shawn's crib, to…to here—he ran behind here."
"Oh, my God! He knows where I am! He knows! Jake, he knows where I am!" She looked at him, pleading.
"You saw him that good from a glimpse?" Jake asked.
"DJ, Marcus and I, we saw him earlier. He was at the gas station, the Subway. He saw us, and mumbled some racist comment under his breath. Marcus wanted to deal with him, so did I, but DJ told us to chill. And then when I was coming home, I saw him again and recognized him from earlier."
Jake fell back against the counter, the heels of his hands on either side of him as he leaned there. He was gazing down at the floor, and then up at his sister, at Vivian. "Shanna?" He called to her gently; their eyes met. "You're going to have to do, whatever Shawn and I ask you to do, understand?"
She was crying softly now, tears rolling, she nodded.
"He's not—going to get you. You understand?"
She nodded.
"He'll have to get through Shawn, first. And if he does, he'll have to get through me."
Sylvia didn't want to hear anything about anyone going through her husband, and started crying, she stood from the chair, pacing. "Call the police, Jake!" She pleaded and then went to the window, about to open it to call him back in. "What are you doing?! Come away from there! What did he just tell you?" Jake pulled her gently away.
"I DON'T CARE! I WANT MY HUSBAND! HE'S OUT THERE BY HIMSELF!"
"Calm down, mama!"
"No! He's just one man, and he's out there by himself! Call him in, Jake! Call him!" She sobbed.
Vivian's eyes moved from Jake to Sylvia. She held on to Shanna, but she was scared as well, afraid for Shawn. Scared for Shanna, and now with this, Jake would be involved as well.
"Sylvia, you're gonna have to calm down now, okay? Shawn can take care of himself, believe me, he can." He turned at the counter, picking up the phone again. He dialed a number, held the phone to his ear; waited for it to ring twice. He repeated the process twice more, the third time, it was answered.
"Dad? It's Jake, I know it's in the middle of the night but, that John Sykes—he's stalking Shanna. Mundo saw him out behind her house tonight. Shawn's out there now looking for him; I need you to bring something of mine." A moment passed, he was listening to his father, and Jake answered, "Yep, looks that way, thanks." He clicked the phone off.
Shanna started crying even more, "Why'd you call dad, Jake? What did he say? What are you planning?"
"Jake? What are you doing?" Vivian asked.
"I need you guys to calm down, okay? Just remain calm."
"Man…what's taking him so long? He out there by hisself, dude, I'on know." Mundo was starting to get nervous and upset.
Just then the door came open, and Shawn came in out of breath. They could tell he'd been running, he was taking several deep breaths.
"He's no where in sight now. I ran back towards my place, thinking he parked there. So many tracks around from us parking back there, there's no way of knowing if he was there or not." He spoke in between taking deep breaths, "I ran back through the woods this way, to the other end, nothing. Mundo's lights must have made him turn around." He explained, walking to the kitchen table, setting down the flashlight and his gun. His eyes searched for his wife, she was crying and afraid of him. She wanted to run to him, but she was frozen to the floor.
"Come here." He bid her softly. She rushed into his open arms. He wrapped them around her, holding her tight, talking somewhat low, yet even so, didn't care about the others present. "I'm sorry, I yelled at you. I'm sorry, if I hurt you, but you are going to have to learn, that when something is going down like this, you do what I say. Don't ask me any questions—because at the moment, I'm not going to answer any. When we get to the house, we're going to have a long talk. You put your life at risk—"
"I didn't know—what—what was happening, Shawn." She sobbed in her defense.
"I don't care! I don't care. I need to know where you are, and that you're okay. You walked across that road alone, Sylvia! By yourself! No one even knew you were out there! What if he saw you, knew that you were with us, and took you to get her? HUH?" He tilted her tear-streaked face up to him. "No one would have known. You achin' to see what insanity looks like?"
"Nooo, I don't—I just—why do you—Shawn—" She couldn't finish her sentences, too overwrought with fear, hurt at being yelled at. And he was still being commanding with her, even though he was holding her, trying to calm her. She could tell, it wasn't over. "Shhh—hush…I'm sorry…calm down. I'm sorry."
Shawn held her looking at his brother, Mundo and then at Vivian and Shanna. His mind spinning, trying to chart out the best way to protect them all, at the same time that he must see to this man, John Sykes.
"I should've never come back here. I should have taken off some place else. This is all my fault."
"Hush, Shanna! You're talking nonsense!" Jake ordered her.
"It's true. This is the very reason I stayed away for so long. I didn't want him messing with my family, doing what he's doing, right now."
"Shanna—" Shawn started and stopped as someone knocked on the door.
Jake went to it, it was Royce. He stepped into her place, looked at everyone; he could tell they were all upset, and scanning the room, he saw the gun on the kitchen table. Eying it, he then looked at Shanna. She was a wreck, her face red, mottled and tear streaked. "Aaah, sweetheart…" He walked to the sofa, Vivian immediately gave him her place. He sat and gathered Shanna into his arms, murmuring softly, "I guess I should have stayed after all, hm?"
She only shrugged, fighting back more tears. She was embarrassed and ashamed. She was blaming herself. Her father had tried to get her out of the marriage years ago; she defied him and had paid the price ever since, and now—her brothers were up in arms. "Can someone tell me what's going on?" He asked them, holding Shanna. Shawn looked from him to Shanna. "Who called him?"
"I did." Jake informed him, he knew what was coming, he knew Shawn.
"Why?" He asked, looking at Jake.
"I asked him to Shawn." Shanna spoke up.
"Why?" He turned the question on her.
"I told her to call me for any reason. I'm glad she did." Royce spoke up.
"I see. Well, uh, we've got everything under control. You can go back home now."
"Shawn!" Sylvia couldn't believe him. He gave her a sharp look that effectively shut her up.
"How so? Why would I go back home?" Royce asked.
"Shanna's going to be getting a few of her things and coming across the road tonight." Shawn informed them all.
Shanna looked at her brother. "
Shawn, I can't keep coming to—"
"Hey! Not now, okay? You hear me? Not now." He cautioned her.
Royce looked from Shanna and then back to Shawn. "How about we just…all calm down, and someone tell me what's going on. What happened after I left here?"
Mundo looked from Royce to Shawn, he wasn't saying a word if Shawn didn't want him to.
"Well—don't everybody start talking at once!" Royce commanded, looking at them all.
Shawn finally conceded. "My sister's soon-to-be ex-husband, has located her. He knows she lives here. He was spotted tonight, first at the Subway, and then over thirty-five minutes ago, running along my property, behind her home. He's excessively violent, and will possibly do whatever it takes, to get his hands on her. Now—the question is, what do you plan on doing about it?" Shawn cut to the chase.
"So…he was, uh, definitely spotted here?"
"That's what I just said. She's scared shitless of him. I had to stand here—and watch my fucking sister—dissolve into a mass of quivering fright! NOW—WHAT THE FUCK—!"
"SHAWN!" Jake shouted at him, Sylvia cried his name as well.
Shawn stepped away from his wife, turning away from them, trying to get a grip of himself. His hands raked over his head, and clasped them behind it. He didn't want the police involved. He was pissed. Jake knew it. This was for him to take care of, no one else; he was back home now, and as he took care of all with his family before he left, there was no reason he wouldn't do so now, now that he was better equipped to do so.
Royce looked from Shawn to Shanna, this was truly a dilemma. He knew better than any of them, that at this point, only thing the police could do, was file a report on this man for trespassing. That was it. It didn't matter what he did in the past, because it hadn't been done in Wisconsin. Royce had a sick feeling in his stomach, he was seeing a repeat here. When Raymond Olivetti had attacked Sylvia, then Payne—Shawn had beaten the man unconscious. The scene had left him feeling cold and sick inside, because Sylvia had called them. She'd reported it; reported the subtle harassment outside of Maggie's Market. Even Maggie had called them about it, the reason he'd shown up and escorted her home. That same someone had been outside of her home, looking into her window. Royce sat with the knowledge that had Shawn not returned, had not been there, with a certainty, without a doubt, she would have been raped, and possibly killed—and they wouldn't have known until they discovered her body, after the fact, once the crime had been committed.
BOMAW 7-9 Page 56
